Richard Collier Paralyzed After Shooting

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

To follow-up my September 2 post on the shooting of Jacksonville Jags offensive tackle Richard Collier, the news is not good. Richard is paralyzed from the waist down and he had his left leg amputated. Jags head coach Jack Del Rio reacted upon hearing the news yesterday:

“It’s a tragedy this young man was caught up in this violence. It’s a great tragedy for a young man who had such a promising future.”

This comes as a surprise because the media and Richard’s teammates were kept in the dark this past month. His family wanted to make sure he understood what had happened to him before releasing any information to the public. He’s been on a ventilator for about three weeks and has no memory of the shooting. As bad as this all sounds, Richard’s lucky to be alive. He sustained 14 bullet wounds to his back, left groin, left legs and right buttock. In addition, a bullet severed his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down. The amputation was due to blood clots in his left leg and groin.

I’m just really saddened by the violence that ended Richard’s football career and messed up his life. When you think about what could have been for a guy who wasn’t even recruited out of high school and why a thing like this happened, you just struggle for the reasons. I’ve heard nothing but good things about what kind of guy Richard is. Everyone says he is a good and kindhearted person. The motive behind the attack remains unknown.

Source: Jaguars.com, NFL.com, Photo: Newscom